Every few years the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updates its recommendations to help the public avoid, and health care providers treat, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The recommendations can be overwhelming, but this year there are a few things everyone should know to keep themselves and their partners safe.

Despite the widespread use of the spermicide Nonoxynol-9 (N-9) as a lubricant for condoms and diaphragms, new research shows that use of N-9 can cause lesions and damage to the vagina and rectum and may therefore support the spread of HIV and other STDs. Other major strikes against N-9 include a shorter shelf life for N-9 lubricated condoms, a higher price tag, and a documented association with urinary tract infections in women.

It is important to keep these new guidelines in perspective. If you're contemplating sex (oral, anal, or vaginal), you're still MUCH better off using an N-9 coated latex condom than no condom at all. That's because the protection latex condoms provide against HIV seriously outweighs the potential risk of using N-9. Remember: if you're sexually active you should always use a condom, every single time, if you want to stay STD-free. If your supply, or tube of lubricant, contains Nonoxynol-9, replace it with one that doesn't the next time you restock.

In other news from the CDC, if you are a young women under 24 and sexually active, make sure that you get tested for chlamydia as part of your annual gynecological exam. Chlamydia usually doesn't have any perceptible symptoms, so the only way to know whether you have it or not is to get tested.

The reason the CDC wants to play it conservative when it comes to chlamydia testing is simple: an untreated or misdiagnosed case--and there are millions of them every single year--is expensive and can lead to serious health consequences as well. Chlamydial infection is a risk factor for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), which can damage a woman's reproductive system and eventually lead to infertility.

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